August 25, 2008

Students Get a Step Ahead

Tulsa Community College is offering its courses on the Union High School campus.

Tulsa Community College will be offering a few of its courses to Union High School students in a convenient location this fall -- right alongside the students' other classes.

TCC faculty will be teaching government, college algebra and Composition I to juniors and seniors who meet the eligibility requirements for concurrent enrollment. The classes will be the same as those offered at TCC campuses, and students will earn college credit, said Rick Roach, associate dean of business and information technology for the TCC Southeast Campus.

"It's the same experience, the same college rigor," Roach said. "We just have gone out to the high school to make it more convenient for the students."

The students receive the credit immediately upon completing the class, and it can be applied toward a degree at TCC, or most public four-year colleges, including the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, he said

Dyllon Greenwell, a senior at Union, is enrolled in Composition I. Greenwell was one of many students to have his tuition paid for by the Tulsa Achieves scholarship.

He plans to be an engineering major at either OU or OSU, and is happy about the prospect of being a step ahead when he starts college next year, he said.

"It will just get it out of the way and show I've got initiative," Greenwell said.

He also is looking forward to the prospect of being challenged by a college course, he said.

"I think it will be a lot more to the point, and I think I'll get a lot more out of it than from a high school class," he said.

Roach said the Union students enrolled in the classes will have full access to TCC computer labs, fitness centers and libraries.

"Everything a regular TCC student gets, they can take advantage of," he said.

TCC already has outreach campuses at Bixby High School and other community centers in Tulsa and the surrounding area. They continue to look for opportunities to make attending TCC more convenient for current and prospective students, he said.

Having the classes on the Union campus will expand opportunities for students who can't drive to the TCC buildings, or who have after- school sports or other activities that don't allow them time to leave Union to take other courses, said Janet Dunlop, academic assistant principal at Union.

Seniors who already have completed most of the high school credits often end up taking multiple elective courses just to fill up their schedule, she said.

"What they'd really like to be doing is getting a step ahead in their college career," she said.

About 30 students are enrolled for fall, but Dunlop said she expects that number to increase next semester and in following years.

"We hope it continues to grow," she said. "I think it's a great avenue for students."